AT&T closes DIRECTV Latin America operations in Venezuela

Today, AT&T Inc. announced that it has closed its DIRECTV Latin America operations in Venezuela, effective immediately. The U.S. government’s sanctions on Venezuela have prohibited the broadcast of Globovision and PDVSA’s channels, both of which are required under DIRECTV’s license to provide pay TV service in Venezuela.

Because it is impossible for AT&T’s DIRECTV unit to comply with the legal requirements of both countries, AT&T was forced to close its pay TV operations in Venezuela, a decision that was made by the company’s U.S. leadership team without any involvement or prior knowledge of the DIRECTV Venezuela team.